Baby steps, driving the car

Fun in the sun at the beach!

My oldest has weekly Skype playdates with his best friend from back hom. They are the hilight of his week. As you can see, he brings his toys to the computer and is learning to make sure he is showing them to the web cam!

I have been itching for more freedom from the house, but so far my fear of driving has kept me within the bounds of where my feet can take me. But today I summoned all the courage I could muster and I DROVE the car. My husband sat next to me and helped me navigate which lane to be in and when to signal in roundabouts while I negotiated trying to find the turn signal instead of the wipers. The kids were also trying to help me out as they would shout at me every time a car came up behind us, just in case I hadn't seen it! Children are SO helpful sometime. When we arrived at our destination my husband offered some encouraging words and then the boys both hugged me and told me how proud of me they were. Very cute, very encouraging, but a tad embarassing. It will definitely take some getting used to as my right and left hands try to adjust to their new roles, and as my brain gets retrained to which ways to look for oncoming traffic. For now, I will consider myself a learner and make sure I have someone beside me who knows what they are doing. But, I have crossed that ever important fear barrier by getting into the driver's seat!

Today was a fun and full day. We had a friend stop bye for morning tea (yes, I think I've made a friend!) which was wonderful. I had a driving adventure to get to 'The Strand', which is a fabulous souped up splash pad that is better then the kids part of Bingeman's, and free! All three of the kids loved the opportunity to splash and play and our oldest ran from the time we released him from the car until we figured they'd had enough sun and he reluctantly took his final lap, ensuring he had ducked under or jumped through every stream of water.

We have also found a Friday afternoon, drop in, basketball time slot for our 8 and under, so both the boys have the opportunity to tear around the gym, practicing their dribbling, shooting and most importantly expending loads of energy. Of course, my husband and I hope all the kids will grow to love playing a little one on one, but for now, we will settle for them enjoying the court time for what it is.